City finishes out 2017 with $1.5 million surplus

City of Kawartha Lakes finishes out 2017 with $1.5 million surplus

Kawartha Lakes – At the June 12 Council meeting, the City’s Treasurer reviewed audited financial statements for 2017 and announced a surplus of $1,544,967. This is an improvement over the 2016 year end which resulted in a $1 million deficit.

“The 2017 budget was strong in two ways. The first is that we were able to control expenses and manage revenues to one tenth of one percent of total budget. This is rare in municipal accounting. Second, it met Council’s commitment to work within our long term financial plan and begin returning funds to reserves so that we can maintain a solid financial footing,” commented Jennifer Stover, Director of Corporate Services.

Carolyn Daynes, Treasurer, explained that the surplus is a result of increased revenue in various areas of the City along with reduced expenditures. Notably, the sale of surplus municipal property resulted in $555,000 additional revenue that was used partially to offset the 2016 deficit. The Ontario Provincial Police contract budget came in $235,000 under the estimated budget at the time the 2017 budget was adopted.

A continuing pressure on the budget is the Workers Safety Insurance Board (WSIB) premiums which resulted in $388,000 over budget. Recent legislative changes to include presumptive illnesses for emergency responders are driving the bulk of the costs.

The largest budget pressure is the rising cost of winter control, including snow clearing and road treatment. In 2017 the budget was increased by $1.1 million, however due to an increased number of weather incidences, came in over budget by $1.1 million. The total expenditure on winter control was $7.8 million. Winter control spending has been increased for 2018 by $1.2 million to keep up with the demands of weather patterns.

The majority of the $1.5 million surplus was returned to reserves to look after City capital assets, water and wastewater infrastructure and affordable housing. This will reduce the impact on taxpayers and water and wastewater users as the needs of aging buildings, equipment and infrastructure are addressed. Reserves and reserve funds have increased from $20.3 million in 2016 to $47 million in 2017. This is primarily due to the $25 million debenture in 2017 for the 10-Year Financial Plan to maintain all City infrastructure.

A copy of the Audited Financial Statements can be found on the City’s website under the June 12 Council Meeting agenda package.

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